Camden Fire
This recent fire in Camden, London, started in a shop and spread to the residential flats above. LFB extinguished the fire and warned any nearby residents to keep doors and windows closed in the surrounding areas due to a high quantity of smoke from the fire.
From a fire safety perspective, it is an interesting job to note because we often assess either just a shop (with flats above) or just the communal areas of flats (with a shop below).
As I have stated before in previous posts, it is always important to take into account the building as a whole and to consider where a fire could start and where it could spread too.
Is there sufficient compartmentation between the commercial and residential space and a satisfactory escape route from the flats without requiring linked fire detection or is a system needed linking the shops and flats so that a fire in the shop would alert any residential occupants.
We look at the buildings age, construction, height, protection of escape routes etc., amongst many more things we have to consider.
For fire risk assessments in London please visit our fire risk assessments London page here:
https://www.whalefire.co.uk/london/fire-risk-assessments-london.aspx
